Category Archives: nostalgia

Bright Lights, Big City, and Me

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to the bright lights of the big city. When I was a young girl, and again during college, my family lived outside of Washington DC, and when we drove by at night, with all of those big buildings and homes and restaurants full of lights and life, well, it didn’t get much better than that.  There was an honest-to-goodness physical pull towards the city, I could feel it to my core, and knew that one day, not too far away, that life would be mine.  I couldn’t wait.

After college I lived in Connecticut for a bit, then headed to San Francisco, which, to this day, remains my favorite domicile.  Everything I expected, I found, and more:  interesting job, great suits (this was back in the day), shopping galore, too many restaurants to count, and endless blocks of beautiful houses and parks surrounded by that glorious bay.  It was the land of enchantment, and I loved it. 

I loved my husband more, though, and when his job took him to Seattle, I transferred there.  Seattle’s culture is a world away from San Francisco’s, and it took me awhile to settle in.  People stared at my fancy suits – and wondered why I didn’t just buy a sturdy Patagonia fleece.  After awhile, I started to wonder, too.  When it began to drizzle and I wanted to snuggle up with a blanket and a movie, they were all headed out for a bike ride.  What’s a little rain, sweetie?  Over time I came to love this place, hardiness and all, although I can’t claim to have become significantly more hardy myself.  I’m still not a fan of camping or biking in the rain.  You’ll find me inside on those days, thank you very much, with my hot tea or a glass of red wine, depending on the time of day, and enjoying the comforts of my warm, dry home.

Alas, Seattle wasn’t to be long-term either.  Despite my longing for and loving of the big-city life, God is having himself a big old laugh at my expense.  First, Wisconsin.  Now, Michigan.  People, I like it here, but this is no big city.

And then I read THIS, and I thank God that I am not caught up in that mess.  We are busy, of course.  My kids play sports and take piano and have homework every night but Friday.  (Thank you, teachers, for that last part.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.)  Sometimes our pace feels frantic, but dear Lord, even though I think I’m a pretty high-energy person, who can live like this?  Is that life?  I realize, of course, that this family doesn’t represent every family in the big city.  (I also realize that Long Island isn’t the city, but you get the idea.)  There are tons of you out there doing big city family life really well.  I’m just not so sure that I could do it well—I’m not so sure that I wouldn’t be caught right up in this maelstrom, making sure my kids were getting this lesson and that tutor and every other possible advantage I could give them if those were the pressures around me.  I am a bit competitive, you know. 

And so, even though driving past farmland gives me an actual shiver, because there is no part of me that is ever going to be hardy enough to survive ACTUAL farming, I have to wonder if those people don’t have it going on.  I have to wonder if, in the end, their life is richer. 

But then I realize that not only do they not have the Mad Dash, they also don’t have a Target.

So, nope, we’re not movin’ there.  I guess we’ll stick with the compromise out here in suburbia, and hope that God doesn’t laugh too hard when he finds out I’m still planning to move to the city.  As soon as they all graduate.

Freedom Isn’t Free

This past weekend, we took the boys to Mackinac Island for a quick but thoroughly enjoyable family vacation.  (More on that in a future post…)  While we were there we visited an old military fort, Fort Mackinac, and the boys explored barracks, officer quarters, and old military offices.  A sign elsewhere on the island proclaimed “Freedom isn’t free,” a reminder to civilians everywhere that we have the right to free speech, to disagree with our government, and to have our day in court in no small part because of the men and women who have served in our military to protect these freedoms. 

As we get out our marshmallows and sparklers this week, I’ll talk to my kids about what the 4th of July really means.  Between hot dogs and ice cream, we’ll discuss what makes our country different from so many others, and why people still leave their families, homes, and countries to begin a new life here.  Before I tuck them in, we’ll say thank you, to their dad and to their grandfather, to their great-uncle and their great-grandfather, and to all of the others who have served their country so that we may freely call it ours.

Enjoy your freedom and your Fourth of July!

-Kirsetin

The Music in the Background

I mentioned recently that my childhood included more than one hometown, one best friend, and one school. Amidst the frequent changes one of the constants in the background of our lives was my parents’ music. And to be clear, I don’t mean “their music,” I mean his music and her music. My mother leaned towards James Taylor and his ilk. She would play entire albums, sprinting down the stairs to crank the volume for Handyman. I’ll never forget the very night, years later, when I was in college and kicking back in my girlfriend’s dorm room, laughing, and talking, and listening to James Taylor ad nauseum; we were full of independence and self-discovery. I’d fallen in love with You’ve Got A Friend and Fire and Rain and thought I was worlds away from where I came from, and then it happened. The next song to play was…you know where this is going, right?…Handyman. I absolutely could not believe it. How could it be the same guy? Me? My mom? But you know, that’s really another story.

Now my Dad’s musical tastes are a little more, well, varied. He’s a huge music buff, and, if you ask him, an authority, as well. In my whole life I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard my dad listen to any song in its entirety, which at this stage is a strangely comforting idiosyncrasy. Although he doesn’t listen to the entire song, he listens to enough of it to form an opinion, and again, if you ask him, he’ll be happy to share it. Take a peek at his old albums, or today at his CDs, and you’ll see a coded rating system, with each song given from 0 to 5 stars according to its merits. And somewhere in that stack I bet you’ll find an old Bo Diddley album, because whenever I hear one of his songs, I think of my dad. Bo Diddley passed away yesterday at the rather young age of 79. I’ll miss your music, Bo, and I bet my dad will, too. -Kirsetin